Will I love Anita de Monte Laughs Last?

Get ready for a ride! And an education! Xochitl Gonzalez somehow manages to meld a Film Noir who-done-it vibe with Latin rhythms and a Diego Rivera/Freda Callo-ish artist love-hate-love-mystery thriller with a coming-of-age as a Latinx artist navigating the complex, Ivy League Institutional world into a novel that is fascinating, educating, enlightening about Female Hispanic art and artists, enjoyable read.

This is a novel about power politics in a marriage and in the art world and about the struggle of a newcomer against the establishment. It is also about how a person is remembered and how close our memories come to her true nature.

Gonzales' novel is completely realistic until it isn’t: The protagonist, Anita, is murdered, but she comes back as a ghost to haunt those who suppressed her. The book is a great read because it is lively and funny, but also because it deals with a serious (and my favourite) subject: sorting out what’s real and what’s… show more.